In order to provide our students with the best chance of a successful education, we advocate, encourage and reward good attendance at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy. It is one of our aims that all students maintain an average attendance rate of no less than 97%.
If students are not in school on a school day, they must have a justifiable reason and parents or guardians must telephone the school office each day before 8.30am indicating the reason for the absence and the expected length of the absence; this authorises the absence and helps eliminate cases of truancy as well as supporting safeguarding.
Holidays in term time
The current law does not give any entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. An application for a leave of absence during term time can only be granted in ‘exceptional circumstances’. Only the Headteacher, or his representative, has the authority to determine exceptional circumstances and any requests made will be viewed on the individual basis.
Students who are taken on holidays which have not been requested, or which have been requested but not authorised, will be marked as being an unauthorised absence. In all such cases, the Local Authority will issue a fixed penalty notice, making parents liable to pay a fine for each child involved,
